I've been reading and reading and reading so much that I finally feel the confidence to stop reading and start doing. I'm using a special concotion of top soil i made from my parents back yard. The whole community was built on top of what used to be a cabbage patch farm. All of the neighbors and my parents included grow lots of organic fruits and veggies so I have high hopes for this soil. I dug a 7 foot hole to get the deepest cleanest soil as possible. There are some patches where the flourite black is thin so the soil rises up from through the rocks. I will probably regret it later but planning on covering it more.

Of course i want a very beautiful hardscape and beautiful plants but my goal with this aquarium being my first is to GROW! I know i can do much better but i really want to start and make my first. Once i have the experience I will look at re scaping or maybe another

It's been 3 days and believe it or not i'm already seeing the HC grow! Not much but the mini branches are actually reaching up and it's starting to look alive! I also got rid of the 2nd rock to make room for a row of hairgrass. Ultimately i want the Hairgrass to surround the edges of the aquarium left and right. It will be mainly wrapped around the Petrified wood.